Keywords: Pre-contract negotiations, civil liability, positive loss, negative loss.

Abstract

Pre-contract negotiations usually lead to the conclusion of contracts. The principle of party autonomy also applies to the preliminary stages of contract formation. By considering this principle, two questions may arise: i) On which basis, pre-contractual liability may be justified? ii) What are the consequences of pre-contractual liability? This article conducts a comparative study under French law, Iranian law, UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts and Principles of European Contract Law. It concludes that in French law, breaching the good faith obligation and the concept of fault are the basis of liability, and in Iranian legal system, depending on circumstances of the case concerned, general bases of civil liability, such as Tasbib, La Zarar, Ghorour and fault may be regarded as the basis of pre-contractual liability. In any event, if conditions for imposing pre-contractual liability are met, the party breaking off negotiations would be obliged to compensate for damages covering all losses incurred except for the merely probable benefits resulting from the contract.

Keywords

• keywords: pre-contract negotiations
• civil liability
• positive loss
• negative loss